Emerald Redemption, a Thor: The Dark World fanfiction
by Sairahiniel SakuraAeris1497
Summary: Loki and Melody have been married for eight years, they have two children of their own, and their family life seems good. However, when Malekith and his Elves strike Asgard, the Asgardian Royal family is forced to work together to fight the darkness. Will they prevail or will they fail? Find out in this epic tale of action and family. Rated T for violence in future chapters.
1. Kindred Asgardians

Chapter 1: Kindred Asgardians

Loki and Melody had been married for eight, happy years alongside their children, Hela and Hart, and everything that was good was falling into place perfectly. It was almost as if their lives became entertained like the threads of a quilt, weaving together their fates with many others in the great 'circle of life' in Asgard. Loki had given up his life as a criminal to care for his family in a just way, and Melody had given up her harsh, dark childhood to become a caring mother. Everything was perfect...or was it?

Many years before the birth of Loki or any in his generation, a race of peoples known as 'Dark Elves' vowed to place the world, no the universe, in perpetual darkness. They almost succeeded by using a liquid substance as a weapon, a substance they called, 'The Aether.' Odin Allfather's own father, Bor, waged war upon the Elves and defeated them, forcing them to sacrifice many of their race or be 'killed off' as the Asgardians thought. Knowing the Aether could not be controlled, Bor locked it away in a hidden location so no one could ever harness it's dark power again...or so they thought. These stories of Elves and Aether were stories told to all children in every realm, well except maybe Midgard, and these children believed that these Elves were dead...They would soon find out what really happened in that battle that day, many eons ago...

Hela was training with her father, Loki, as usual, with magic in the palace gardens while Melody trained Hart. Hela executed a high-level spell as her parents watched, beaming with bright smiles and claps of praise as Loki congratulated the ebony-haired teen, "For a sixteen-year old, you're a prodigy. You executed that spell perfectly and it only took you four years to master it, whereas your mother and I took a whole childhood to learn such a high-level spell."

Hela was now of marrying age on Asgard, a sixteen-year old, wizard girl with long, black hair, shining emerald eyes, and fair skin that almost made her look like Isabelle Fuhrman in 2013 on Midgard if she were wearing a medieval-style, green dress. The petite 'Snow White' grinned, the skirts of her green dress and her long, wavy, ebony hair blowing in the breeze as she laughed, "Well, I did learn from the best, Father."

"Pretty soon, Princess, you'll defeat me in a duel."

"Not if you have some new tricks up your sleeve." Hela retorted playfully as Loki laughed and hugged his daughter close to him, stroking her raven locks as he praised her, "I'm very proud of you, Hela. You'll make a fine magician."

"Thank you, Father."

Melody clapped for Hela as she walked by her daughter and husband, remarking, "Nice work on the transformation spell. I almost thought your father made clones of himself again."

"Thank you, Mother."

"And I agree with your father. I too am proud of you, my sweet Hela. You are a genius at magic, even more of a genius than your father or me."

"Well, I agree-Hey!" Loki gasped as the Laufeyson family laughed playfully. The three individuals laughed before Melody explained, "Ahem! Now, I'd like to show you what Hart can do. His pace may be a bit slower than Hela's, but he's catching up and catching on very quickly."

"What spell are you teaching him?" Loki asked as he walked with his queen of innocence, hand-in-hand.

"A transportation spell, a teleportation one to be exact."

"Ooo! That spell took me two months to master."

"Well, it took him the same amount of time, and I think he's ready for a test run," Melody replied before she called out, "Hart, we're ready for a demonstration!"

"Sure thing, Mother!" Hart shouted across the gardens as Melody danced with joy, "I'm sad yet so excited! My children are growing up so fast and they're learning so much, it almost makes me want to cry!"

"Oh, don't cry, Mother. It's no fun when you're in tears." Hart replied with a smirk from behind Melody. Melody looked back at where Hart 'was' standing and then where he was now, picking the eight-year old up and swinging him around before setting him on the earth below him, smiling as she did so. Hart had grown into quite a handsome, little boy with ebony hair, turquoise eyes, and fair skin to match his parents; the uncanny resemblance made him look like Loki if he were thirteen or fourteen and he looked too mature to be eight. The resemblance was so strange that he almost resembled Aza Butterfield in 2013 on Midgard. After hanging out in the garden for a while, the Laufeyson family headed back inside the palace to wash up and eat to their hearts content alongside their friends and family. After all, Thor and his army were returning home from a long day in battle and their victory needed to be celebrated, as always, of course.

It seemed that, overall, the relationship between parents and children was a fine, delicate balance with nothing bad befalling the Laufeyson family. The balance could be broken if ties were broken or if the family became divided, but the two families, Odinson and Laufeyson, wished good will and good fortune to both good friends and their kinsfolk. The party lasted for several hours, even going far into the starry night as the men drank and told stories, the women danced and sang, and the children played and joined in the festivities of the victory. Thor and Jane celebrated together alongside their four-year old daughter, Levina, and other friends and family while Hela and Hart celebrated alongside their parents Loki and Melody; both families, Laufeyson and Odinson, were proud of the victory against the invading armies on the peaceful realm of Vanaheim.

And why shouldn't they all celebrate? Jane and Thor as well as Loki and Melody had been married for more than two years with at least one child of their own each, peace had spread across the nine realms, Sif and Fandral were engaged to be married while Darcy and Hunter had been married for four, joyful years, and no threats had been seen in the realms for many moons. Also, Hela was at the age where she could accept marriage proposals from suitors to plan an arranged marriage, but Loki and Melody wished for Hela to marry whoever she wished in her own time because of how the two Jotuns met and fell in love, even though Odin assured the Jotuns that arranged marriage was not that bad. Loki and Melody sternly told Odin that they did not wish for Hela to be forced into marriage, and the discussion was left at that: Hela would choose a man in her own time...It seemed as though everything was falling perfectly into place, except when a tragedy struck the house of the Asgardian royal family...

_***AN: Please Enjoy & Review. Thank you. :)***_


	2. The Crimson Aether, It's Coming!

Chapter 2: It's Coming, The Crimson Aether!

_**Sorry it took me so long to get this chapter up, but here it is! Chapter 3 should be up shortly, I promise. Luvs You :)! Please review and enjoy.**_

Melody tossed and turned in her sleep, unable to properly lie down and rest comfortably. It was almost as if she felt an imbalance, a disturbance inside Asgard that alerted her to something that should be taken seriously. Melody quickly undid the covers and smoothed out her night gown before she looked around her room, looking for any sign of imbalance or movement as she heard a voice, "Something wrong, love?"

Melody whirled around and saw Loki sitting up in bed, his black, now a little longer in length, in only a pair of pants. Loki stared off into space as Melody answered, "Is it just me, or do you feel something...strange in the air?"

"You're not strange and you never will be, at least not to me...You feel a disturbance?"

Melody nodded before Loki stared back at her, "Well, darling, I feel it too. Something's not right here."

"How long have you been awake?"

"A few minutes before you got up...I'll check it out, but you stay here."

"Like heck, I will! Wherever you go, I go. I'll explore with you too." Melody answered before the couple heard an innocent voice call out in the hallway, "Mom, Dad..."

"Shh...You hear that, Melody? That sounds like a child, a child out of bed." Loki whispered before the two heard the voice again, closer now, "Mom, Dad..."

The couple heard the cries of 'Mom, Dad...' over and over again before a feminine figure entered the room, "Mom, Dad..."

"Oh, it's only you, Hela. Thank goodness." Loki sighed in relief as Melody noticed tears in Hela's eyes and asked in concern, "What's wrong, Hela? You've been crying." Loki took notice and looked at Hela in worry before she ran into the arms of her parents, seeking their comfort as they tried to shush her. Loki patted the girl's back as Melody held Hela in her arms and soothed, "Shh, darling...It's all right. You're safe, it's okay. Nothing's gonna hurt you, not even a nightmare."

"It's not a nightmare I had, it was something worse." Hela choked out as Loki questioned in confusion, "What are you talking about?"

"I saw...I saw a woman with golden hair and eyes, and she warned me about a great danger that would come to destroy all of Asgard and the nine realms. She told me that the Elves were alive and that they'd kill us all...But, she also told me to tell Melody that she loved her and that she was sorry."

"Elves...That's impossible, my princess. The Elves are all dead. Thor's grandfather made certain of that years ago when he killed them in battle and locked the Aether away."

"Father, it's the truth...You don't believe me, do you?" Hela retorted as she tried desperately not to cry, because she was a sixteen year old girl, but the tears fell as Loki soothed her, "No, Hela, no. Please don't cry, darling...I just thought...Bor had killed them all, that's all. It was a misunderstanding."

"How were you able to see such a wise woman?" Melody inquired as Hela began drying her tears, "...When Father threw me out of the house, it wasn't because I was just a half breed and magician...But, I had a 'special' gift too, a gift that Father feared and Mother loved."

"What gift, darling?"

"Speaking to the dead, whether I'm awake or sleeping."

Loki and Melody kissed Hela before they both congratulated her, "That's wonderful, darling! No wonder you're so special to Asgard and us! Amazing, Hela!"

"Thank you, Mother, Father..." Hela responded before Melody asked, "Hela, if you can speak to the dead, then can you tell me who the woman you saw was?"

Hela thought carefully about this answer before she said, "She told me that she loved you and that she was sorry for everything...Oh, now I remember! She told me her name before I woke up; she called herself 'Isana.'"

Melody looked at Loki in fear with a tint of joy before Hela asked, "What's wrong, Mother? You and Father look sad."

"We're not sad, Hela. We're overcome with joy...That woman you met was very special to me."

"How?"

Loki cleared his throat before he answered, "You see, Hela, Melody never had a mother growing up because she died giving birth to Melody. Melody's mother was dying of disease anyway, and to protect Melody, her mother cast a protection spell around the womb before giving birth nine months later. Then, as Melody's mother gave birth, the umbilical cord wrapped around Melody's throat, choking her, so Melody's mother requested a Cesarean section, even if it meant undoing her protection spell and taking her own life to ensure that Melody survived."

"Your mom sounds like an amazing person."

"She was. Melody's mother was a high-ranking Asgardian magician in the Asgardian courts, and a very beautiful one at that. That's where Melody gets most of her looks from."

"So you see, Hela...That woman you conversed with was Isana...My mother and you and Hart's grandmother." Melody clarified as Hela's jaw dropped in shock, "No way! I spoke with my grandmother, the one who saved your life as a newborn?!"

"Yes."

"Wow...That's amazing." Hela gasped before the trio saw Hunter hobbling in the bedroom with his wife, Darcy, bracing him as she chastised him, "Careful, careful, you idiot! You'll fall if you don't be careful."

"Brother! Brother, what's wrong?" Melody inquired as she hopped off the bed and tended to her 'brother' while Loki and Hela neared the blonde as he slumped down in a chair. Loki scanned the details of the man before he responded, "Hunter, you look terrible. Whatever is the matter?"

"Is Uncle Hunter all right?" Hela asked as Loki looked down at her with a smile. She may have been a troublemaker and strong, young woman, but Hela always had a childish innocence about her. Loki caressed his daughter close to him before he answered, "Don't worry, my sweet. Hunter will be all right. I'm sure there's a logical explanation for all of this."

"Darcy, what happened?" Melody asked as Darcy panicked, "I don't know. His eyes just started to glow blue and then he collapsed after he whispered to me, 'I saw...the Elves...They're coming back, and they'll destroy everything...Warn Sister Melody before it's too late, my sweet Darcy...' I don't know what happened, I'm so sorry!"

"Don't be. This is normal for Hunter to have glowing eyes and say weird things, however, he only collapses when there are great disturbances or dangers in the future, and the Elves are one of those great dangers."

"Who are the Elves?"

"They are Dark Elves from Svartalfheim, and they're as dangerous and as blood-thirsty as a pack of wild animals. They kill everything on sight and inject it with their darkness...They will never stop until darkness blankets the nine realms..."

"That sucks..."

"Then, it's no coincidence that Melody and I felt a disturbance, Hela spoke to her deceased grandmother about the Elves, and Hunter had a vision about the Elves that made him collapse. I think it all makes sense now: We're being forewarned about the Elves' danger." Loki explained as Hunter came to, "...Darcy?"

"We're all here, Hunter. Everything's all right now." Darcy answered as the man shook his head to clear it of any 'debris' before answering, "I saw them, you know...The Elves."

"We know, Brother. Hela saw it too. She spoke with Isana."

"You mean, your mother?"

"Yes, my mother. Isana warned us and so did you. Loki's right: This is no coincidence, so we need to investigate the nine realms for any disturbances as soon as possible. If they attack anywhere, my best bet is that they'll start here out of revenge, then go to Midgard to finish the job."

"Well, what shall we do, Sister? It seems as though you're calling the shots."

"...We'll speak with Odin Allfather tomorrow and warn him before we travel to Midgard. We need as much help as we can muster before we face those dark-skinned scumbags!"

"I agree, darling...I may be able to convince Odin to let us travel to Midgard before the Convergence."

"The what?" Darcy asked as Melody clarified, "It's like a perfect alignment of all the realms. It allows you to travel in-between realms freely, but once the Convergence ends, the connection between worlds is broken. Did I forget to mention that it's a rare occurrence that only happens every 5,000 years or so?"

"No way!"

"Way...Anyways, if we don't stop the Elves before the Convergence, they'll use it to trap all the realms in eternal darkness, and then no one will be able to save us."

"So, save the world, kick some Elven butt, and have a little romance along the way? I'm all for it."

"Then, it's settled! We leave for Midgard tomorrow morning, no questions asked." Melody answered as night fell into a darker background.

The next morning, Loki and Melody requested a meeting with Odin to tell him of the Elves. Odin didn't believe the couple's story at first, believing his father, Bor, had killed them all long ago, but once many others recalled the events of the previous night and agreed with the Laufeyson family, Odin eventually believed his 'son' and daughter-in-law. That's when Odin allowed Loki and Melody to take Darcy, Hunter, Thor, and Jane along with them to investigate the dreams of the 'Aether' and visit old friends. With that, the group of six raced over to Heimdall as quick as a whip and made their way to Darcy and Jane's old home, Midgard, or in this case, London.

So much had changed since Loki invaded this realm, but now he came to save it. The mere thoughts of working with those blood-thirsty, barbaric Chitauri made Loki feel fear in his core, causing him to shiver as Melody held her husband tenderly and smiled chastely. Loki gripped her face gently and caressed Melody's soft, feminine cheeks before the group went out in the city of London to find Eric Selvig, Jane and Darcy's old partner. Last time they saw him, Jane and Darcy were researching in London before they chose to stay with Thor and the others in Asgard, so they decided to go back to their old lab to find him. However, when the group knocked on the door, Eric wasn't there but a dashing young man with dark eyes and hair was.

Jane neared closer to the young man as she asked, "Excuse me, I'm looking for my partner, Eric Selvig. Have you seen him?"

"I haven't seen Eric in at least three days. You'll have to come back later." The man panicked as he tried to shut the door before Jane stopped him, "Please, it's urgent that we find him. I'm Jane Foster and this is my family. We're all friends of Eric's and we need to see him right away."

"Oh! Please forgive me for my rudeness. Please, come in and make yourselves at home. The name's Ian.

"Thank you, Ian." Jane politely addressed the man before she and her party entered the quaint, simple apartment. Melody looked around the house in a daze, not knowing anything about human culture except for their music before sitting down beside her Loki and everyone else. The group stared at Ian before Jane quickly took control, "Have you and Eric known each other long?"

Ian swallowed before answering, "No, I just became his mentor two months ago, and yet I hardly know my employer. Sorry..."

"You're fine..."

"Why did you come here, and why'd you come in medieval clothes? Is there some renaissance festival going on that I don't know about?"

"Umm...Well, we-"

"Yes, there was a festival...It was a long drive from...the outskirts of London and the festival's over. We didn't have enough time to change, so we just came like this. The festival was about medieval and Norse culture, very exciting, indeed!" Loki intervened before winking at Melody and Jane as if to say 'Don't worry, I got your back.'

Ian shrugged off Loki's lie before Jane asked, "Have you and Eric been doing lots of research?"

"Yes, we have, but there's some disturbance on our monitors that we can't figure out."

"What kind of disturbance?"

"A big one, like a 'once in a lifetime chance' disturbance. We picked it up on our radars, but we can't figure it out...And it only occurs in several areas around London, especially in the abandoned factory."

"What factory?!" Darcy inquired in a frenzy as Ian looked at the brunette bug-eyed, "Uhh...The abandoned factory where physic laws are backwards. Some kids found it and they showed me and Eric things you wouldn't believe. If you want, I can show you what I mean."

"Yes, of course. Please take us there." Jane pleaded as Ian grabbed some car keys and smirked, "Then, shall we go?"

It only took thirty minutes to get to the factory, but at last, the group made it. Ian parked the car and took the keys with him as he and the others entered the factory, where three children were waiting for them. A young girl, most possibly of Indian descent, spoke first, "So, you have returned...with the police?"

Ian shook his head as he answered the girl, "No, they're not the police, but they're researchers like me and my partner from before. I've come to show them...the 'inside.'"

The girl looked towards her male comrades before she nodded with a smile, "Follow me, please." The group did as they were told and followed the girl inside the factory, watching all kinds of weird stuff happen. They saw a car lift into the air without anyone lifting it except with only a pinky and they even saw items fall onto the ground and out of the sky. This caused Loki and Melody to snicker as they thought to themselves in a state of telepathy, 'This is amateur compared to what we can do. This is amazing and all, but we can run circles around these kinds of magic spells.'

All of this was unreal! However, while the group was playing around, Jane strayed off from the group and made her way upstairs to a dark, secret hallway. Jane looked back to see if anyone was following her before she felt a strong zephyr hit her, pulling her towards the door at the end of the hallway until she landed in a dark, stony room with a stone slab in the center of that room. Jane looked around and panicked as she shouted, "Melody! Darcy! Thor! Get me out of here!"

No one heard Jane's cries for help, so Jane decided to explore the room until her group went looking for her. During her exploration, Jane found the stone slab and inside was a red, gooey substance that secreted am eerie whisper from it. As Jane reached inside the stone, the crimson liquid seeped into her arm while the slab cracked. A great disturbance left the room and as Jane collapsed to the floor, her hand out of the slab, the stone slab collapsed and sealed off the rest of the crimson liquid. Meanwhile, Jane laid on the chilly, stone floor, the red substance spreading until it reached her bloodstream.

Back in the other room, Loki, Melody, and Hunter felt the disturbance as Hunter collapsed to the floor in searing pain, clutching his head and gasping, 'It's happening...They're coming for us.' before his body crashed against the factory floors. Darcy ran to him and tried to revive her husband while Ian helped. Loki and Melody, however, stayed on high alert as Loki replied, "I feel a great disturbance, an energy burst to be quite clear."

"I feel it too, Loki dearest...And, have you noticed that we're missing one person from our little group?" Melody mentioned.

"One person...You don't mean-"

"Jane!" Thor realized before he took off running down the hall with Loki and Melody following hotly behind him like a pack of hunting dogs.


	3. Battle for Asgard & the Bifrost Flower

Chapter 3: Battle for Asgard & the Bifrost Flower

Jane didn't remember much after passing out except that a red sludge attracted to her arm and then a vision of herself with a pitch black sclera before silence and darkness. Jane laid on the cold floor as she heard faint sounds all around her, three of which were familiar to her.

"Jane, darling, please wake up..."

"Let me try it, Brother. Sister Jane, wake up, you dolt!"

"Don't call her that, Loki!" Thor shouted as he shoved his brother before Loki shoved back and retorted, "You got a better idea, Thor?"

Melody stepped in between the sons of Odin as she warned, "Both of you move back and give her some air for goodness sake! Jane, please speak to us. Come back!" Melody placed her hands on Jane's heart and whispered an incantation before Jane's dark eyes fluttered open, a cough escaping her lips as Thor hugged her tightly, "Oh, Jane. Thank goodness you're safe."

Jane tensed up at the hug and blinked in a 'drunken' state before she realized what happened and soothed her husband, "Shh, it's all right...I'm okay."

"What happened to you? You look as if you've seen a ghost." Melody questioned as Jane smirked, "I must look terrible, huh? Well, the strangest thing happened to me...I stray off from the group for a few minutes when this wind gust throws me into this portal or something with a stone cave. All of a sudden, I see this stone in the center of the room with a red liquid secreting from the stone, and when I go to touch it, it latches onto my arm and makes me collapse...Then, I somehow end up here...Strange, huh?"

"Indeed," Loki nodded as he scrunched his eyebrows together, perplexed, before he inquired, "Now, this red liquid...Describe it for me."

"Umm...Red and fluid like floating water. I thought it was sand at first until I saw its water properties...Then, it showed me a strange vision."

"What do you mean?"

"When I collapsed, it showed me surrounded by darkness and the whites of my eye were dark as night...It was almost as if I were consumed by darkness...I sound crazy, I know."

"No, you're not crazy, Jane...I know this seems random, but may I take a good look at your arm, the one the liquid latched on to?" Melody intervened as Jane handed Melody her left arm, "Oh! Certainly."

"Thank you." Melody nodded before she used her healing powers to examine Jane's arm while Thor and Loki watched in both concern for Jane and amazement at Melody's wisdom. After several minutes, Melody found nothing wrong with Jane until she reached Jane's bloodstream, finding the red liquid described by Jane as Melody clutched her head in searing pain. Loki held his wife as she swayed back and forth before Melody shook her head to clear away the temporary headache as she explained, "I saw what Jane described and it has entered her bloodstream...It's the source of the energy disturbance and I know what it is from my research."

"What is it?" Thor asked as Melody answered, "Jane has accidently acquired the Elves' power source: The Aether."

Loki, Thor, and Melody looked down at the floor as Jane asked, "What's the Aether? Odin never told Darcy and me this before we became Asgardian. He didn't tell us about the Elves either."

"The Aether is the power source for the Dark Elves. Dark Elves are dark-skinned, white-haired people who seek to plunge the world into eternal darkness, using the Aether as a shortcut to do so. In other words, they wish to kill everyone." Melody explained.

"Okay, so they're bad...But, what does this have to do with me?"

"You accidently acquired their power source, which means if they are still alive like Hunter and Hela say, then they'll start going after you to get their Aether back. They'll murder to get it back, even if it means sacrificing one of their own to destroy all Asgardians and humans...That's why we need to get you back to Asgard now, so we can protect you."

"Okay...But, will the Aether kill me?"

"No, it may try to plunge you into darkness and it may cause you abdominal or head pains from time to time, but it won't kill you. After all, you're only half Asgardian. If you were a pure-blood Asgardian, it would most likely try to kill you, but it's fortunate that you are both human and Asgardian." Melody winked as Thor asked, "How do you know that?"

"Research, Brother Thor. I've read pretty much every medical book there is, so I have much medical knowledge...Trust me on this: She'll be fine."

"Can we remove the Aether?"

"No, Brother. Melody and I may be great magicians, but our skills are not enough to remove the Aether safely, even remove it at all...Only a Dark Elf can remove it; Malekith can remove it." Loki shook his head in disagreement as Thor sighed, "Well, then we return to Asgard. We must inform Father and Heimdall. I'm sure one of them could help find a way to remove the Aether safely."

"Then, shall we go?" Melody asked before the group of six left the factory, bidding Ian ado as he watched them sail into the sky, never to be seen again for a while.

The return to Asgard was swift and urgent because the group requested to speak with Odin Allfather. The group reunited themselves with family and friends, receiving hugs and kisses all around, before Odin finally arrived to speak with the six 'investigators.'

"Odin Allfather, we must request another audience with you...We found the source of the disturbance and the Elves." Melody explained as she bowed to her father-in-law.

"What is it, Melody?"

"...The accusations about the Elves are true. It's the Aether too, your grace. It has entered Jane's bloodstream and is starting to darken her. Do you know if there is any way to safely remove it or suppress its dark spread on her body?"

"...No, I haven't the medical knowledge nor magic powers to do so. However, there may be a spell in your tomes, Melody. Perhaps a medical barrier might help combat the darkness."

"You're absolutely right! Why didn't I think of this before? Loki dearest, assist me in the spell." Melody commanded sweetly as she and Loki held hands, reciting the incantation to Odin's idea as Jane laid still, unsure about whether she should move or even breathe as she felt a soothing sensation reach her body. With that, the group scattered around the palace, making sure Jane stayed with Lady Frigga and the children, mainly Levina, just in case the Elves were alive and they did come back.

Several moments passed since Jane found the Aether and the Elves had awakened. Hunter still felt a disturbance, but he didn't collapse. Instead, he clutched his head a lot in searing pain as Melody, Darcy, Loki, Thor, Hart, and Hela watched over him in concern. The six individuals paced around the palace, prepared for any and all attacks from the Elves, until an explosion was heard from the outside, shaking the walls to the core as the group of five struggled to stay on their feet. Hunter drew his sword while Darcy drew her bow and arrows, Thor summoned his Mjolnir, and Hela, Loki, Hart, and Melody summoned their magic and vast knowledge. On the other side of the palace, Frigga grabbed a nearby sword and clutched Jane and the children close to her as she desperately tried to stay on her delicate feet. Frigga, Jane, and Levina ran into a small room where Jane and her four year-old daughter were expected to hide with weapons in case of worst case scenarios while Frigga prepared to fight man-to-man.

Loki, Hela, Hart, and Melody cast illusions upon themselves to resemble Asgardian soldiers, so the Elves wouldn't recognize Loki (He had a strong history with Malekith), while Thor and the others prepared to face anything that dared to enter the walls of Asgard. Once the Elves entered the palace and made their way inside, there was no going back as the battle for Asgard began.

Swords clashed, cries were heard, explosions were seen, and blood was spilt as the action-packed, swift battle raged on. Many Asgardian soldiers were dying by running head on towards the enemy and their high-tech weapons while the greatest warriors fought strongly yet meticulously. Loki and his family, in disguise, fought off as many Elves as they could before Loki turned his back swiftly to fight another enemy, allowing room for an Elf to aim his weapon right at Loki as Hela screamed, "FATHER, WATCH OUT!"

Loki snapped the neck of his enemy before turning around as the eyes of the next Elven enemy made its way towards his heart, ready to pierce his heart and crush it if the spell met its target and hit...But, when Loki opened his eyes and saw neither a change in his morals and thinking nor felt any pain hit his chest, he became perplexed until he saw a glowing, blue shield surrounding his body and the bodies of the other warriors including Melody, Hela, and Hart. Loki stared perplexed, just like the Elves were, until he noticed that Hart's eyes were glowing gold, secreting a blue shield from his gaze. With the Elves distracted, Hela showed off her powers as she created fire in her palms and sent some of it flying at them while the Laufeysons joined back into the fight. However, an Elf was able to knock Hela down, but before their weapons struck her, Melody repelled them back as her eyes glowed rainbow and her body parts turned these colors as follows: Right arm- Emerald & Gold, Left arm- Sapphire & Ruby, and Face- Amethyst. As Melody's appearance changed, her family and comrades felt a soothing feeling in their bodies as they felt their energy rise again and their wounds healed right in front of their eyes.

These kind of powers had never been used before by Hart or Melody nor seen by anyone else until this battle. The battle raged on until the Elves retreated, as if they heard a call from their master to return and wait until a later time to fight. Melody and Hart returned to normal, but Melody had a bad feeling about the sudden 'retreat' as she and her family took off running to see if Frigga, Jane, and Levina were okay. But, when they got there, they were met with a gruesome, tragic sight.

The Laufeyson family gasped at the sight as they saw Frigga lying on the floor, bleeding with no life left in her. Odin was crouched beside her, holding her petite, beautiful body in his arms as Levina and Jane held onto Thor, Jane thinking it was her fault for her death even though no one placed blame upon her. Hart began crying silently and held onto his sister, Hela, while tears streamed down her face while Melody and Loki held one another, Melody bursting into a fit of sobs as she painfully remembered the tender, gentle moments shared with the benevolent Queen Frigga. Darcy was crying too as she was being held by Hunter, who looked very weak from the battle, with a cut to his forehead from an Elven weapon. Everyone mourned in silence as they remembered Frigga and her pleasant memories.

A funeral was immediately held for Frigga and the fallen warriors as the remaining citizens of Asgard gathered around the dead bodies, throwing flowers onto the grave vessels before the little boats were sent out to sea. Women cried in silence, children held onto their parents, and men bowed their heads in grief as archers armed with fire-tipped arrows struck the boats and burnt the bodies. The burning bodies filled the city with light as citizens released floating lanterns into the sky, the colors of orange and blue covering the sky above as the souls of the fallen scattered into blue sparkles and made their way into the heavens.

Several hours had passed since Frigga's death, and many people missed her. Loki even smashed a hand mirror and tore a tapestry to smithereens in his and Melody's room out of grief and anger that he didn't save Frigga's life while Melody held his trembling form, stroking his long, ebony locks and soothing him with kind words as he weeped into Melody's chest and clutched his hands to her battle dress. The Asgardians planned to have a meeting to decide what to do about the Elves as they sat around a long, circular table with Odin heading the table.

"Now that we know the prophesies of the Elves are true, we must decide what to do...Heimdall, are the shields still up? We must protect our citizens."

"They are not, my lord Odin. An Accursed Elf has disengaged them and it may take weeks to repair the complete damage."

"We don't have weeks, Heimdall! The Elves will be in the city again and they'll kill us all in at least a few days or hours! Get it fixed immediately!"

"We are doing the best we can, Sire."

"Father, maybe you should lie down for a while...I can lead the meeting-" Thor suggested as Odin snapped, "Be silent and sit back down, Son! I may be old, but I'm as strong as ten kings...Now, I suppose we could defend the walls with our men, but many would die."

"That would kill our men, Father! I thought a king protected their people!"

"I am protecting them, Thor!"

"You're leading them to their death. That's what you're really doing!...I loved Mother too and so did everyone else, but your grief is clouding your judgement. Rest, Father, please."

"Don't argue with me, Boy! My grief makes my vision clearer!"

"..Maybe we could create a diversion." Loki intervened gently yet quickly as Odin and Thor looked about ready to strangle each other or knife each other.

"Pardon me?" Odin questioned as Loki repeated, "We can create a diversion...The Elves will follow the Aether no matter where it goes...If we can lead a small group including Melody, Thor, and I as well as Jane to Svartalfheim, the Elves will follow us there and Asgard may have a better chance to fight back...Trust me on this, please."

"He's right...A diversion is our best chance, Father Odin." Melody agreed with her husband before Hunter gripped his head in pain, clutching the gash in his forehead before he collapsed to the table. Everyone neared closer to Hunter until Melody felt his vitals, "He's unconscious, but it seems this gash is part of it...I have no idea on how to cure this, but I've never seen anything like this before, so I'm really lost."

"Is he gonna die? Please, heal him!" Darcy pleaded as Melody replied, "I have much medical knowledge, but like I said before, I've never seen this before, so I don't know where to start...Heimdall, do you know of a cure?"

Heimdall smiled before he stared at Melody with his orange eyes, "Yes, I do."

"Is there an item we must find or some spell I must do? Please tell us, he's my brother."

"If it's an item you need, I'll go looking for it." Loki replied as Melody grabbed his arm before he could teleport, "No, Loki! I've already lost Frigga and I'm not about to lose you too! You will stay here and if it's an item we need, we'll go together."

"There is an item, a rare one that can heal him. Asgardians call it 'Blumeia,' Jotuns call it 'Norga,' and humans call it by a simpler name, 'The Bifrost Flower.'"

"I've read about it...It's a healing flower that resembles a Midgardian flower called the 'Rose.'"

"Very fortunate that one son of Odin studies more than he wields a weapon...Loki is right, it resembles a rose, but I shall explain the importance of this flower in more detail. It's a transparent, clear flower with a rainbow glow that has dew drops upon it that can heal any illness or ailment except for death. Once one passes into the realm of the dead, the flower can't heal it, however, the flower can still save someone even if they are close to Death's door."

"But, what does this have to do with anything?" Volstagg replied as Heimdall replied, "Hunter needs this flower's power to be healed of his gash because this cut may look ordinary but will become fatal if we don't heal it in three days. This gash is a curse, and it will consume Hunter in darkness until it kills him, and since the flower I speak of can heal anything, it can be used to combat the darkness since the flower is made of light and white magic."

"Oh..."

"I should also mention that even women bearing children have drank from the flower to ensure they birthed healthy children. These children became known as 'Children of the Flower' and they even developed special abilities from their parents when they drank the flower."

"What kinds of powers?" Loki inquired, curious to know more about the flower since he only knew what the flower was called and what it looked like.

"Foresight, Empathy, Telekinesis, Telepathy, Ghost-Talking, and primarily Healing because of the flower's healing properties. These are the powers that one can inherit."

"And, what happens if someone drinks from the flower and they already have the flower's properties?" Melody asked the 'All-seeing Guardian of Worlds' as he answered, "Their offspring will be at least half if not just as powerful as their parents who drank the flower before them, but if the parents don't drink the flower before having children, then the child will only gain a special ability but not the healing properties of the flower..Children of the Flower are very protective of those they love and will often inherit rainbow eyes when their powers are activated."

"My eyes glowed rainbow when the Elves tried to strike Hela...and Hart formed glowing, blue shields around us to protect all of us from a curse spell...Wait, does that mean-Hart and I are-We have-"

"Yes, Melody, you and Hart are both children of the flower. Hart has Empathy like you that allows him to strongly protect you with a mental shield while you have the healing powers of the flower."

"But, that makes no sense! If my mother drank the dew from that flower, then why would it not protect her too? If my mother was sick, then wouldn't the flower heal her before she gave birth?" Melody cried.

"Melody, tis true that Isana drank from the flower, but a curse was placed upon her that caused her to be sick. She loved you very much, and she did try to protect you, even with her own life...To counteract the curse, Isana drank the dew and placed the protection spell on you while you resided in her womb, but the spell required a human sacrifice."

"So, in other words, Melody's mother died protecting her from the person who cursed her...So, who performed the curse?" Loki inquired, curious to know who caused Melody's childhood pain besides her good-for-nothing father, Caius.

"A magician much like yourselves cursed your mother so Melody would never be born. He wanted Melody to die so they couldn't save Asgard from danger..."

"Name him so I may take great pleasure in destroying him!" Melody screamed as Heimdall bowed his head, "Only one person could've done this...Malekith..."


	4. Escape to Svartalfheim!

Chapter 4: Escape to Svartalfheim!

Melody gasped as she fell to her knees in tears, clutching her heart as she cried, "Isana never hurt anyone and yet he still killed her, making Father and I believe it was all my fault...Why, Malekith? Why?!" Melody wept into her hands as Loki scooped his wife into his arms and held her close, stroking her hair to comfort her as the others tried not to cry as they looked away in shock and shame. Loki looked down at his wife, trying not to cry himself as he rasped, "What gave that monster the right to cold-heartily take another person's life, and not just any life, but the life of a pregnant woman?!"

"I don't know, Loki. What gave YOU the right to kill innocent Midgardians, especially women and children? It takes a killer to know a killer...Just saying." Darcy retorted as Loki sighed,  
"That was nearly a decade ago, Fair Darcy, and I have put that dark past behind me, along with all my crimes and sins...I don't understand why he wouldn't wait until Melody was born before killing her."

"He could've had a vision that Melody would destroy him and his plans...To prevent such a prophesy from coming true, he had to dispose of her before she could breathe her first breath..." Heimdall explained.

"Why not search for her if he knew she was alive?! Why wait until now to take revenge?"

"Malekith and the other survivors from eons ago remained asleep for over thousands of years. He waited because he knew someone would find the Aether and use it to bring him and his followers back to take their revenge on Asgard, the Children of the Flower, and the nine realms...Only Children of the Flower can defeat the darkness with their powers alone, and legend says that these children can be revived from the dead only once using their powers alone. That's why everyone tries to get their hands on the flowers or to an extent, the children of the Bifrost Flower."

"Is there any proof of this?" Hela questioned as Heimdall nodded, "There is...The hair of these children that are revived turns blonde, almost white, when they are close to death...That is a sign that a spirit from Valhalla has awakened their true powers and given the pure children of the Flower their life back."

Hela looked down at the floor before she replied, "...I've never told anyone this, not even any of you, but I have no choice...After my father killed my mother, she told me a secret as to why I can talk to ghosts...As she laid on the ground bleeding and dying, she told me that she had secretly drank the dew of the flower and because she had never had kin who drank from said flower, I gained my mediumship from the flower and only a part of the healing properties. Father feared my powers, so he sent me away, but Mother embraced my gift and that's how she was killed. I just thought you should know before the final battle begins."

"Thank you for being honest, Hela."

"You're welcome, Heimdall."

Melody stopped crying for a minute and regained her senses as she answered the elder guardian, "...To tell you the truth, Hunter's grandmother drank from the flower but his mother did not, therefore Hunter gained telekinesis and foresight because of it...And, when I saved Hunter's life in Jotunheim, I took a blade wound to the abdomen and as I was dying, I didn't know it then but I think I know it now...Isana came to me and gave me my life back, and my hair changed from brown to white; that's when I began my quest to search for Loki, and here we are..."

"That proves you, Melody, are a true child of the Flower...Your path has already been decided and may you be strong in your battles ahead. "

"Thank you, Heimdall. I appreciate your great wisdom and guidance."

"Well, I didn't gain my eyes just to peep in on others. I had to gain some knowledge from my eyes, right?"

"Right...But I must use my wisdom to take Malekith's life and make him feel my pain."

Loki shook his head in disagreement as he soothed his half-breed wife, "No, Melody. Don't fight this battle out of revenge because of your pain. Don't walk down the road I went down because you will regret it forever, knowing you took the lives of both innocent and guilty people...Please, Melody, don't change into someone that I will never recognize."

Melody grasped Loki's hand and kissed the fair, callused hand as she nodded in agreement, agreeing to only hurt and/or kill Malekith and the Dark Elves if they threatened her family or her people. The King of Lies and Mischief grinned and hugged his Queen of Innocence and Honesty as Thor and the others turned their attention to Odin, "So, Father, about Loki's plan...Are you in or out?"

Odin didn't take long to think the plan over as he rashly declined Thor, "I won't have it and I won't agree to this plan."

"But you will lose more than you gain. Please, just listen to us, Father! Don't let your grief shadow your wisdom!"

"If it takes blood to end this war, then so be it...We're done here, Son." Odin answered as he exited out the door and left Thor and his comrades alone to ponder Odin's answer. Thor and his comrades gathered around a table with mugs of ale in hand as they discussed a new plan to avoid further loss and blood shed of Asgard's people. Thor began the discussion as he explained, "Odin's grief clouds his judgement and he won't listen to reason...We're running out of time and options before the Elves come back for more revenge. We need a plan and I think Loki's plan could work. A villain knows how to face another villain, no offense, Brother."

"None taken," Loki shrugged before he said, "So, your idea is to listen to my diversion plan?"

"Yes. Explain your plan in full detail."

"Very well, Brother...The Aether is the most powerful weapon that the Elves have at their arsenal, and they'll follow wherever it goes. My idea is to leave Asgard against Father's wishes, take a small group to Svartalfheim, and lead the Elves to their demise so no more blood will be shed. That's my plan, are you in or out?"

"Loki, son of Laufey...What you are suggesting is treason of the highest degree. You will be killed if you get caught." Heimdall warned.

Silence fell upon the room and hushed every member of this 'council' before a voice, so sweet and innocent, called out, "I'll go to Svartalfheim with Loki. He has been more of a father to me than my own father, and I wish to stand by his side."

Hela finished her sentence before Melody and Hart stood up, causing Melody to grasp Loki's shoulder as she replied, "We'll go as well. The Laufeyson family always stays together and perseveres, no matter what. If one member decides to go on a dangerous quest, shouldn't follow too and suffer the same fate?"

"But they'll kill you!" Fandral yelled as Melody shook her head, "I'd rather die a courageous warrior and child of the Flower alongside my beautiful family than run away and leave the people to die an agonizing death in the darkness. This is why I was born, Fandral: I'm meant for great things, and one of those great things is to safe the nine realms from the Elves. I'm going with my husband and my children, and you or any of you will NOT stop me...So, who will fight with me as one of my comrades? Who will be my brother, my sister, my family on the battlefield? What say you?"

"Thor and I will go. I caused the Elves to awaken, so it's only fitting that I get hurt by their hands." Jane replied as Loki shook his head, "No, Sister Jane. Finding the Aether was not your fault...Maybe you were meant to find it so we could learn more about the Bifrost Flower and bring the group closer together. Everything, including Odin's actions, happen for a reason and I think bringing us together to fight a great evil was the reason for finding the Aether. Because of you, we can probably save many more lives with the help of Melody and the other, hidden children of the Flower."

"I appreciate your kind words, Loki. Thanks."

"Anytime, Sis."

"Well, shall we go?" Thor replied as Melody said, "But, Thor, we need transportation and distractions to get us to our destination. We can't just go get an aircraft willy-nilly and expect the guards to listen to us. Your father has outlawed our plan."

"We can provide the diversions so you can create the larger one. We'll be fine, trust us." Volstagg answered as Sif, Fandral, and even Heimdall nodded.

"Well, we have our distraction dummies and our plan. Let's execute it!" Loki proclaimed as everyone raised their mugs in agreement before drinking to their heart's content.

Jane and Thor took Levina to Vanaheim and left her with Hogun since she was too young to fight in a war. Although she was strong and willed with courage beyond her years, Levina would not have the mental capacity to know when to strike and when to lay low nor would she have the experience to fight. She had only been using a bow and arrow for two years, and she still hadn't mastered it, so she reluctantly agreed to stay with Hogun because who didn't like Hogun? The man was tall, handsome, a little stoic and emotionless, but very nice and he loved children. Jane and Thor were pleased in this brotherly bond between 'uncle' and 'niece' as they headed back to Asgard to enact their plan, a plan that could land them all in jail if they were caught.

The plan all started with Sif retrieving Jane from her room after Odin sent her there because of the Aether inside of her before 'scape-goating' as a distraction to buy Thor, Jane, Melody, Loki, Hela, and Hart some time to get to a ship and get to Svartalfheim. Sif fought off several guards while in another part of Asgard, Heimdall opened a portal, after being instructed not to by Odin, and fought off some guards as he was arrested by Odin and the guards. Odin figured out that the plan was enacted and he tried to stop it, but his resistance was futile.

At that same moment, Volstagg led the group to the ship and instructed them to get inside while he fought the rest of the guards to buy time for the 'escapades.' Thor tried to drive the gargantuan machinery, but it was almost like he was drunk while playing bumper cars as he panicked inwardly to start up the ship and crashed into everything in sight. Hart, Jane, and Hela hung onto something for dear life as Loki and Melody rebuked Thor for his driving.

"Are you trying to kill us, Brother?! Do you know how to drive this thing?" Melody screamed as she hung onto a bar overhead to keep her petite form from being thrown around the Asgardian vehicle.

"Thor, watch where you're going! You'll get us all killed before we leave Asgard if you keep driving like this! Give me the controls, I can do better than you!"

"Shut it, Loki! Let me drive, darn it!"

"Stop fighting, you two! You'll get us all killed!" Hela shouted as Thor ran into a large statue of Bor, his grandfather. Loki rolled his eyes in annoyance as he shouted, "Now look what you did! You decapitated your grandfather because YOU CAN'T DRIVE! Somebody should just shut up and hand me the controls before you kill us all, you dolt! Are you insane?! This is why I do all the talking and the work and you go get drunk with your bosom friends!"

Thor grabbed Loki around the collar as he threw him out of the ship while Melody and the rest of the Laufeyson family yelled, "Thor!" They didn't even hesitate to jump after Loki as Thor and Jane followed suit. The ship remained in the air as soldiers chased after it while the small group landed on a hovercraft piloted by Fandral. Loki took control of the hovercraft while Fandral jumped onto a ship, the same ship that realized the bigger aircraft was a diversion and followed the group as they jumped. Everyone held onto something while Thor tended to Jane, who during the commotion back on the other ship, collapsed before Thor grabbed her and jumped. Loki smirked with satisfaction as he piloted the aircraft before the group made it to a mountain, causing Thor to panic as Loki sped up the craft towards the mountain side, "Are you crazy?! You're driving straight into the mountain."

"This is a shortcut, Brother. Trust me on this: We won't be harmed." Loki replied as he sped up the hovercraft some more, than a little more, until it finally crashed into the mountain, revealing a secret portal along the mountain side, a portal that took them swiftly to Svartalfheim. Loki then slowed down the ship while he looked over at Thor and Melody, who were tending to Jane. He put the ship into auto-pilot before tending to Jane as well, making sure his sister-in-law was all right. When he realized she was safe, he resumed his piloting as they sailed into the barren, gray dust-covered realm of Svartalfheim...

_****Sorry I haven't written in so long, but now I'll leave you with somewhat of a cliff-hanger...I hope those that are following, favoriting, or reviewing are enjoying Part 2 of my Loki fanfiction and once again, I'm sorry for your wait. I love you! :)****_


	5. The Betrayal

Chapter 5: The Betrayal

The group that had escaped to Svartalfheim, the Laufeyson and the Odinson families, sailed through the skies of the dark, barren wasteland of the Elves as Melody, Loki, and Hela sensed the presence of the foul creatures. Jane was resting as Thor covered her with a blanket, tending to her fragile yet determined body, while Loki piloted the flying machine like a husband driving a wife and his kids in a Midgardian RV. Melody thought about Hunter and Darcy and how she used her healing properties on her 'brother' before leaving for Svartalfheim; Melody wondered if her powers really had saved him as Hela looked at her 'mother,' placing a tender hand on Melody's shoulder to calm her as the fair-haired witch smiled. Melody stroked the tender face of Hela and kissed her dark hair before placing her son on her lap, cradling her two children to her as Loki stared on lovingly. 'This really is a true family, better than my good-for-nothing father back in Jotunheim,' Loki thought to himself as he placed tender touches on his family before returning to his driving, which he was actually good at.

After what seemed like eons of flying, the aircraft landed in the mountains of Svartalfheim as everyone headed off into the center of the dust-covered world. The group hid behind some boulders as several Elves entered Svartalfheim in search of the Aether while Jane clutched her head as the white in her eyes changed to black. Melody held onto Jane to calm her as Loki and Thor looked around, talking. The two looked deeply in conversation and Melody read her husband's, Loki's, thoughts, smirking almost evilly as she sent telepathic messages to everyone but Jane. Thor started his side of his and Loki's conversation as he said, "Ready, Brother?"

"Ready as I'll ever be...You trust me?"

"Yes."

"Well, you shouldn't," Loki replied before he zapped Thor with green magic, causing the blonde oaf to tumble down the mountain as Jane followed the two brothers, Melody and Hela holding her back like cops holding back a psychotic prisoner as Hart joined into the violence against Thor. Thor tried to fight back, but Hart snuck up behind him, circling around him in an invisible state before striking him with all he had. Loki, Melody, and Hela then zapped Thor with more magic to separate him from his hammer. Jane struggled against her bonds, Hela and Melody's grasp, as she screamed, "You traitors! How could you?! I thought we were family!"

"Well, we wanna make a deal with the Elves...for YOUR power, dearie." Hela smirked.

"Sorry, Sister, but that's the price you pay for stealing heavy magic!" Melody cackled as she and Hela sent more secret, telepathic messages to the group, excluding Jane and the Elves. The Elves were confused yet intrigued by this so they just watched. They even clapped and laughed as Loki 'cut' off Thor's hand so he could've wield his hammer anymore. Thor held his 'sliced' hand with his intact one as he cried out in utter pain while Loki threw Jane to the Elves like meat for dogs. He made a deal with the Elves to split the Aether evenly, and since the Elves, including Malekith, recognized that he was a Jotun alongside his family, the Elves took the bait. Score!

Malekith lifted Jane into the air and took the Aether from her, images cascading Jane's mind as she stared off into space. Melody sent a telepathic message to Jane, telling her that 'things would be all right and that the "stunt" that her family pulled was just a trick. The main event was about to begin.' Jane nodded to the message and waited...waited...waited...until a voice rung out, "NOW!"

Loki's voice signaled a rebellion in the group as Thor's sliced hand was revealed to be only an illusion as he picked up his hammer and prepared to fight. Thor was able to nick Malekith across the face while Loki grabbed Jane away from the Elves, kicking serious butt with only a switchblade and his 'Jotun Kung Fu.' Melody, Hart, and Hela guarded Loki and Jane as many Elves fell and died. Thor struck the Aether and it broke, shattering into red, jagged crystals as Loki and Hart shielded the girls.

The Aether turned back into a liquid form as Makekith snarled at the group. He signaled to his strongest warrior to take Thor out before fleeing, and when Melody tried to stop him, she failed as he got away. Cursing under her breath, Melody returned to the battle at hand as she and her family knocked Elves down like bowling pins, one after the other.

Thor, on the other hand, was getting pummeled into a Asgardian pancake as blood and bruises lined his body. The strongest warrior was able to rid the 'Demigod Avenger of Thunder' of his hammer and was pounding the dude's face into the ground. Loki managed to take out all of the other Elves single-handily, except for the strongest warrior, so thinking more about his brother than himself, Loki took off running towards his brother's direction.

Thor tried to hang on and hold his own, but after five minutes of being pounded in the heart, lungs, and head, anyone would just simply keel over and kick the bucket. Thor's strength was dwindling and dwindling fast until a stab sound was heard. Loki was behind the blade's sound as he replied, "Leave my family and my brother alone, foul creature..."

The Elf turned around and hugged Loki to him, the blade piercing Loki's vital organs as he winced and screamed. Hela and Hart cried tears as they shouted, 'No!' Melody and Jane gasped as they clutched their mouths while Thor shouted, 'No, brother!' Loki fell to the ground with a thud, but not before rasping, "If I go down, you go down with me...Go to Hel."

The creature didn't notice that Loki had strapped a bomb-like mechanism to its leg until it was too late. Goodbye...Boom! The creature was gone, zip, nada, bye bye! But, Loki was heavily injured. Thor ran to his brother as the rest of the family ran to Loki, trying to hold, hug, caress, just touch him to keep him alive. Loki gasped heavily like a wounded child in Thor's buff, strong arms as Thor pleaded with Loki to hang on, "It's okay, Loki. I'm here, it's okay...You're gonna be all right. The wound will be healed."

"Not this time, Brother...The blade is poisoned...Go save the nine realms and protect my family." Loki rasped as Melody cried, "We won't leave you-"

"And I'll never leave you...I'll always be with you, but you must go, please. Go, go and make me proud..."

"Loki, my love...Don't do this. I can heal you."

"...I love you all..." Loki replied before breathing his last breath, his grip on Melody's hand and Thor's shoulder falling with the downward heave of his chest and drop of his head. Melody shook her husband, begged, pleaded with him to awaken alongside her children...but nothing could be done. Loki was gone.

Thor and Jane decided to finish the mission alone after several minutes of grieving. Every second wasted was one step closer to world destruction, so they decided to continue with Loki's wish of protecting the world and his family. Melody, however, decided to stay behind with her family to watch over Loki while Jane and Thor continued the quest alone. When you love someone so much you're willing to die for them, you can never get over the grief of losing them to a terrible foe...and that's exactly what happened to Melody. Without Loki, she wasn't safe. Without Loki, she had no love. She needed her husband and friend, her protector and her nurturer. She needed him, she needed Loki, and nothing and no one would ever change her thoughts. Her children thought the same way, so Jane and Thor left the three individuals alone to grieve while the couple raced against the clock to defeat Malekith...

**_Sorry this chapter is so short, but I hope you approve. Thanks. Please review and enjoy!_**


	6. Tears of the Asgardian Angel

Chapter 6: Tears of the Asgardian Angel

Melody held Loki's cold, Jotun, lifeless body against her bosom, not caring if blood was drying upon her green warrior dress. Hela started shedding tears as her shoulders heaved, her composure breaking even as she tried to stay strong to comfort her sobbing kid-brother, Hart. Hart clutched to the skirts Hela's emerald battle dress, one similar to Melody's in appearance, as Hela stroked his ebony hair and shushed him.

Melody, on the other hand, weeped pitifully over Loki's body like Rapunzel did for Eugene Fitzherbert in Tangled. Sure, crying wouldn't bring him back from the dead, but the half-breed princess had to try something. She called upon her mother, but no help came, so Melody scratched that idea until another one hit her like lightning. She had seen how the tears of the golden-haired Rapunzel healed Eugene in two seconds flat, but that was just a Midgardian fairy tale for children. This was real life!

Melody tried to pull herself together, but she and her children couldn't get over Loki's loss. She sang the lyrics of the 'Healing Incantation' from Tangled as she sobbed, hoping it would bring her love back,

_**(Credit to Tangled)**_

"Flower...Gleam and Glow...  
Let your...power shine.  
Make the clock reverse...  
Bring...back what once was mine..."

Melody sounded, pitiful, I know, but she was desperate. She tried again with a stronger voice even though her tears and hope had shattered the soprano vocal cords. Hela and Hart joined in too, hoping to cheer Melody up as all three chanted in tears,

"Heal...what has been hurt.  
Change the Fate's...design.  
Save what has been lost...  
Bring...back what once was mine...  
What...What once was mine..."

Alas, Loki was still lifeless, and it caused Melody to cry more, her tears falling into his open mouth and closed eyelids as her sobs and the sobs of her children filled the dusted barren land of Svartalfheim. Melody cried and cried and cried...until the sound of shuffling feet appeared behind her. Melody pulled out a knife, ready to attack until a voice stopped her, "Don't fret for me, love...Melody, children, please dry your tears and don't cry."

Melody looked around, hoping she had just heard voices until it came again, "Please don't cry, love...It pains me to see you hurt." Unless that voice was just fluent and smooth with a British accent, it couldn't be a coincidence that Melody started asking her children strange question, "Children, do you hear that voice?"

"Yes, Mother. We hear it too." Hela nodded as she searched for its source, her brother releasing his grip from her skirts as he looked around too, "It almost sounded like-"

"Loki!" Melody replied as she snapped her head around and around, checking to see if her dead husband was somehow still alive until an Asgardian soldier appeared, white armor gleaming in the dim sunlight of Svartalfheim. Melody greeted the soldier and he asked why the maiden was crying, "Lady Melody." The soldier saluted before Melody saluted back and replied, "At ease, soldier."

"Why the tears, Milady?"

"It's Loki. He...Malekith murdered him. He died trying to save us and it's all my fault. My powers couldn't heal him in time." Melody explained as she broke down crying again, her innocent nature returning and her 'strong young woman' demeanor slipping away. Melody clutched to the soldier and closed her puffy, tear-filled eyes as he held her and the children tight, shushing them as he crooned Melody, "Milady, I'm so sorry for your loss. I hope you can forgive me for not coming sooner."

"Y-You...did all you c-could, soldier, but I let h-him die! I could-could've done something."

"Shh, it's all right...My love." Melody snapped her closed, pathetic red eyes open as she remembered that the soldier's voice had changed to resemble Loki's. How could that have been possible?! Loki was the only one who could've done that with his illu...sions...

This didn't make any sense, no sense at all. Loki was dead, right? The soldier could've just been a trickster or a magician in secret, right? This was all a coincidence. Melody was just hearing Loki's voice to give herself solace, but then, how could the children hear the voice too? Surely, thoughts that seemed out of the mind couldn't be passed along to others close by, right? Wrong!

The soldier stepped back and took off his helmet, ebony hair cascading out of the white head piece as green eyes gleamed in the sun and fair skin twinkled like night stars. A smile formed upon the man's face as his brows relaxed, his smile full of life as he shushed the woman and children,"Miss me, my love? I'm sorry I scared you..." Melody and the children couldn't believe their eyes! Standing there was the man believed to be dead. He was healthy and unharmed, tears streaming down his emerald eyes, but otherwise unhurt. Loki was alive!

Hela neared closer to Loki, stroking his hair and eyes before punching in the gut. He winced as he recoiled from the blow as she crossed her arms over her chest and pouted, "How dare you! You played an awful trick, Daddy, and we all thought you were dead! Darn you, Darn you to heck!"

"Oh, Hela. I'm so sorry, but I'm okay." Loki attempted to comfort his livid yet relieved daughter as he wrapped his arms around her and stroked her hair, kissing her forehead as she shed silent tears into his chest. Hart immediately ran up to Loki and wrapped his arms around his waist, crying into the Jotun's back as Loki placed his other arm around Hart. Loki shed tears of joy and shame as he hugged his children before Melody strode up to him, relieved that he was alive yet a little angry about his trick, as Loki gazed at her innocent yet strong body. Melody looked at her husband silently as she stroked his hair and face, making sure he was real as he did the same to her. Finally, without a moment's hesitation, Melody collapsed into his arms in a fit of sobs as he held his whole family of three in his two, strong arms. Tears clouded their vision as they embraced until they stared out at the dim horizon.

Hart was the first to speak as he replied, "Father, we need to get back to Asgard. The Elves are on the move."

"Where's Jane and Thor?" Loki asked as Melody explained, "They went on ahead of us to finish the mission while we stayed behind to grieve. We could never leave you...Laufeysons stay together, remember?"

"Yes, we never leave a member behind. If one of us goes, we all suffer the same fate...Abd that's sweet of you, that you'd think so highly of a Jotun ex-criminal."

"You thought highly of half-breeds like Hela and I, so think of it as a personal favor from one family to another...So, what's the plan, love?"

"We need to tell Father I'm dead."

"What?!" Hela whirled around as Loki nodded, "It has to be done, darling. The Elves think I'm dead and so do Thor and the others...If they think I'm dead, then I can help better and get away with a lot more."

"But you'll have to wear a disguise forever!"

"Well, not forever, just long enough to fool the Elves...Get my drift?"

"Perfectly..." Hela replied as Loki changed back into the soldier. Melody and the others prepared to return to Asgard as they followed the Convergence tunnel into their homeland. Once they got back, they told Odin about what happened and he was shocked at the news. His legs almost gave out from grief at losing his son and wife all in a matter of two or three days, his composure as king beginning to crumble as he realized that they were truly dead. Melody, the children, and even 'the soldier' comforted the good, old king in his depression before the battle, but even HE wasn't prepared to sacrifice anymore because he had pretty much lost everything, just as Loki almost had when Melody was about to die eight years ago. Odin now knew about real loss: The loss of love, the loss of a beloved wife, and the loss of a beloved son.

Back in Midgard, Hunter, Darcy, Selvig, and Ian heard about Loki's tragic death from Thor and Jane before they made a plan to stop Malekith in his tracks before he destroyed the world. They determined the Elf's location to strike, Greenwich, before building all of their equipment, setting it all up, and preparing for the worst in this battle. The final battle may be bloody, but it had to be done to stop anymore unnecessary bloodshed. It was all up to those still living to stop the Elves before darkness reigned supreme once again...


	7. Thank You - Epilogue

Chapter 7: Thank You - Epilogue

Melody and her family, including Loki in his soldier disguise, fought against the Elves that attacked the kingdom of Asgard while the battle between Thor and Malekith raged on. Thor and Malekith were throwing each other through portals like rag dolls while Loki and Melody were stabbing away at their foes and kicking Dark Elf butt. After several minutes, maybe an hour, the battle was finally own and Thor could return to Asgard with Jane.

Jane went back to Vanaheim to bring her daughter to Midgard before she and Levina stayed behind in London. Thor returned to Asgard momentarily to speak with his father, discussing on matters that had to do with the throne since Loki was dead. Thor spoke first as Melody and her children sat on the queen's throne and the child-like thrones and Odin paced the floor, "Father, I have returned to Asgard to repair any damages done to the kingdom."

"There are not many damages and many are already repaired, thanks to Melody and her family."

"Loki would've wanted it to be rebuilt, just as it was before...well, you know." Melody jumped in as Thor shook his head solemnly, "Sister Melody, I'm sorry for your loss and if there was anything I could've done-"

"Say no more, Brother Thor...Loki would not want us to fret about his passing. He is gone now, and I have accepted it. I know that nothing can ever bring him back, but I do know that I'll see him again...It's just the way of the world."

"Are you prepared to take the throne, my son?" Odin asked as he sat upon his golden chair, setting his staff gently with a small clang. Melody and her children stared at Thor as he looked off into space, almost silently telling his father that he **DIDN'T** want the throne as Odin laughed, "You were a young prince who wanted the throne so badly that you almost started a war to inherit it, and now that you are able to finally gain your birthright, you refuse it...You have grown, my son, and I am so proud of you. Your mother and brother would be so proud of you too."

Thor smiled at this, looking up into the sky as if he could see their faces smiling down on him, before he handed his hammer to Odin, only to hear the elder man say, "Keep it, Son. Mjölnir can only be wielded by one who is deemed worthy and Midgard will always need a guardian in case of future invaders...You'll be a wise king..."

Thor took his hammer back and faced his father, smiling at the man as he prepared to leave the room, "Thank you, Father." After Thor rounded the corner to leave the palace for good, Odin's voice changed into Loki's as he smiled, "No, thank you, Brother...for everything." Loki was sitting right there, on the throne of Asgard, a throne that he desperately wanted and technically deserved. Odin and Frigga were gone and Thor had left to reunite with his wife and daughter, so Loki was the only option left, but he would always come back to Midgard to visit his and Melody's family.

Many years passed before Loki finally revealed that he was still living. Once, Thor, Jane, and the others came to visit Melody and the children on Asgard and that's when the truth came out. Odin had disappeared in the final battle of Asgard, most possibly from distractions of grief plaguing his mind so he'd get himself killed in battle to be with his wife and son. Everyone was saddened by this, but no more so than Thor, since deep down, he really loved his dear father. It took some courage, but eventually, Thor and Jane as well as Levina forgave Loki as they embraced his handsome form. They forgave him very easily as they marveled at how easily he fooled everyone, just like Oz in Oz: The Great & Powerful. Despite the throne being Thor's birthright, he gave it to Loki because he felt that the Jotun Prince deserved a second chance at having a normal life. Melody and Loki accepted the responsibility as they finished out the visit, savoring the moments with their families together until they returned to Midgard.

Loki finally had a normal life with a beautiful wife and adorable, strong children. He never had to worry about dead-beat parents ever again, never had to fear neither the darkness nor the cold because Odin had saved him those long years ago. Loki worked tirelessly to keep the nine realms safe and sound as well as bring Jotunheim and Asgard together, finally uniting the two kingdoms just as Odin predicted he would. Melody, too, had a normal life that didn't include an abusive father, people that hated her, or people trying to chase or kill her; she was loved by all in the nine realms and marveled as the second-most beautiful queen of Asgard, one rank below the late Queen Frigga. Hela grew into a beautiful maiden, the finest half-breed in all the realms, and she eventually married a young Jotun man to further unite the kingdoms of Asgard and Jotunheim and Hart grew into an outstanding magician far beyond his years. The families of Odinson and Laufeyson remained together and lived together in peace forever after, until the end of time...

**_~FIN~_**


End file.
